Delhi AQI at 376 on Diwali; 19 stations in severe category

Delhi recorded an average air quality index of 376 on Diwali, in the ‘very poor’ category, as firecrackers were reported from Pitampura, Burari, Mayur Vihar, Bishambardas Marg and Lutyens’ Delhi.

At 7pm, the city’s AQI reading was 371, close to the severe threshold. Nineteen of Delhi’s 59 monitoring stations were in the severe category, while Jahangirpuri recorded the highest reading, at 460. PM2.5 was the main pollutant, and smog reduced visibility across the capital.

The district administration permitted only CSIR-NEERI-certified green firecrackers on November 7 and 8, between 6am and 7am and between 8pm and 10pm. Fireworks were prohibited within 300 metres of hospitals, nursing homes, health centres, old-age homes, educational institutions and other notified silence zones. Green crackers could be sold only at Delhi Police-designated locations.

The Air Quality Early Warning System forecasts severe air quality from November 9 for the following few days. It cited unfavourable weather, vehicular emissions, Diwali celebrations and peak stubble burning in neighbouring states.